Last Seen:

November 18, 1990

Masbate
RICO DOSDOS, 27, a farmer and itinerant fish vendor, a resident of San Isidro, Palanas, Masbate, married to Nerissa Atibagos and with two children, was illegally arrested in Malibas, Palanas, Masbate, on 18 November 1990. Perpetrators of the arrest were PC Trooper Danilo Cañete, CAFGU Quirico Adigue, Jr., a CVO known only as Nathan, and unidentified elements of the 248th PC-CAFGU Sub-Camp in Malibas, Palanas, Masbate.

In her signed affidavit, Nerissa related that early in the morning of 18 November, Rico went to Dimasalang to buy fish to sell and on the way to sell a sack of camote from their farm and collect payments from some people who owe them money. Rico sold fish in the neighboring barangays along the national road to the inland areas.

That was the last she saw of her husband. The following day, a relative informed Nerissa that Rico was taken by the military to the 248th PC-CAFGU Sub-Camp.  On 19 November, Nerissa went to the sub-camp, accompanied by some relatives. The camp commander was not around, so she talked to a Sgt., who told her that they have not arrested nor detained anyone by the name of Rico. He also told her to come back and assured her that they would help in locating her missing husband.  Many Malibus residents witnessed the incident. They couldn't do anything but watch helplessly. They were also too terrified to testify. But Nerissa was able to put together the pieces of information she gathered from these witnesses, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution by the perpetrators. She learned that Rico was heading for the national road around 3:30 in the afternoon of 18 November after collecting payments from people who owe him money and for the sack of camote he sold. He was about 2 kilometers away from Dimasalang, where he intended to buy fish to sell.

He was already nearing the Malibas Elementary School when soldiers, all under the influence of liquor, confronted him along the road. They asked him who among the teachers in Malibas was connected with the NPA. They insisted that he should know, as he himself is also an NPA. Rico denied their accusations, claiming no knowledge of it, as he is only a poor farmer and an ambulant fish vendor. He raised his hands as in surrender when one of the three men shot his left arm.

Rico was forced to confess, but he had nothing to tell. Every time he denied their allegations, the three men took turns mauling him even as he was bleeding. They punched him in the face, hit his jaw with the butt of a gun, allegedly causing it to be broken and his face all swollen, hit his stomach with a gun barrel, kept a gun pointed to his temple, and finally shot his foot.

One witness, wife of a former CHDF (now CAFGU), recounted that at around 3:30 in the afternoon of 18 November, she saw the whole incident until the time the three armed men, still hitting Rico without letup, carried him through the road leading towards the PC-CAFGU sub-camp.

Another witness also spoke of the whole incident, recounting further that as soon as Rico was brought inside the sub-camp, other military troopers there continued to beat him up unrelentingly. Rico was barely alive when he last saw him.

Nerissa went to the sub-camp three more times after her first attempt to find Rico there on 19 November. Her efforts produced nothing, so she sought the assistance of Palanas Mayor. On 26 November, the mayor referred her to the 248th PC Coy in Sto. Niño, Cataingan. Again, no one can enlighten her on the whereabouts of her husband.

Nerissa and her relatives were ready to file charges against the alleged perpetrators of the illegal arrest and disappearance of Rico. But no one among the witnesses appeared to be courageous enough to testify in court because of fear of what the military may do to them.

details about their circumstances.